Meet Our New Community Partner for 2024
Every year, we partner with a non-profit organization with an anti-poverty focus to help amplify its work in the community. This year, we’re delighted to share that we’ll be partnering with Haven House Services in Raleigh.
Haven House Services is a 501c3 that supports youth in the community who often have no safety net: they may be experiencing homelessness, at risk of trouble with the juvenile justice system, or having difficulties at school or in their community, often due to a history of trauma, abuse, poverty, and/or neglect. The organization operates Wrenn House – the only homeless, runaway, and crisis intervention program and shelter for youth ages 10-17 in the Triangle, as well as a variety of mental health counseling, skill building, street outreach, restitution and community service, diversion, and transitional housing programs.
We’ll be working with Haven House Services this year in three key ways.
First: fundraising. This year, Haven House Services will be the non-profit beneficiary of our wholesale food and flower sales, as well as our spring plant sale.
Second: produce donations. In addition to our regular Inter-Faith Food Shuttle pick ups, we’ll be offering a CSA (community-supported-agriculture)-style program to 10-15 participants in Haven House’s Transition in Place program. TIP is a transitional housing program for older youth (ages 18-24), most of whom have minor dependents of their own. They receive free housing for 12-18 months through Haven House, while attending life skills classes, counseling, and other job training and career development. We’ll be providing free weekly fresh produce boxes from May to September, with recipe ideas for quick, nutritious meals that they can make in their apartment kitchens.
Third: education. We’ll be working with the program directors at Haven House to build basic gardening and cooking learning experiences and volunteer opportunities, both on site at Haven House as well as at Burkett Farm.
As Burkett Farm grows, our expanding network of community partners will also grow. If you have thoughts or ideas about other organizations we should reach out to for partnerships in the future, drop us a line! And be sure to check out Haven House Services here.